Unionists rally in Denver for UMWA strikers
BY JACK PARKER
DENVER--More than 100 striking coal miners and their supporters held a spirited rally here July 26 in front of Pittsburg and Midway's national headquarters. The miners are on strike at P&M's Kemmerer mine in Wyoming and McKinley mine in New Mexico.
They chanted "No contract, No work" and carried signs that said, "Chevron's record on human rights: murder in Nigeria, discrimination on the Navajo Nation, scabs in Wyoming." Pittsburg and Midway (P&M) is owned by Chevron.
The action was sponsored by Denver Jobs with Justice, which is affiliated to the AFL-CIO.
Three miners came all the way from North River, a P&M mine near Birmingham, Alabama, to show their support. "Every ground person is wearing a red ribbon to show their solidarity with the strikers," Carl Yerby told the Militant. "We can't strike, but we can tell the company where we stand."
Head Sánchez was one of two miners who came to the rally from the York Canyon mine in Raton, New Mexico. York Canyon is the other P&M mine organized by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). "We will back the Kemmerer and McKinley strikers all the way," Sánchez told the rally.
Jim Vilos, a member of UMWA Local 1307 who has worked at the Kemmerer mine for more than 27 years, told the crowd, "Chevron wants to bully us, but I would like to tell the brothers from McKinley that we are rock-solid behind you. We are fighting for our rights, for a fair contract, for fair wages, for health care for all, and we will not take a step backward."
Lawrence Oliver, president of UMWA Local 1332 at the McKinley mine, said, "We want a contract, and we want it now. P&M is trying to take advantage of the treaty rights of the Navajo Nation, and that is as low as you can go. By trying to get miners to use Indian Health Services, they are trying to take away medical care from Navajo children." Oliver invited those present to an August 13 rally at the McKinley mine. He reported, "Miners from Black Mesa and Kayenta will be at McKinley that day." Black Mesa and Kayenta are mines on the Navajo Nation; they are owned by Peabody Coal, and their contract is due to expire August 31.
UMWA international president Cecil Roberts told the crowd, "Unity is what made the UMWA, and unity is what is going to win these strikes." Roberts pledged the full backing of the international union to the fight of the McKinley and Kemmerer miners.
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